The Games We Play Best Of Omake
by cthulhu fartagn
Summary: A collection of omake, featuring Ryuugi/rgm005's The Games We Play.
1. Chapter 0: Authors Note

The Games We Play

Best of Omake

This is a collection of omake, compiled from SpaceBattles,

featuring the story The Games We Play,

by Ryuugi/rgm005

While SB has 400+ omake, they range in quality from witty one liners,

to multi-part sagas, or round robin style prompts.

These are what some of us have decided are 'the best'

Enjoy


	2. Chapter 1: Michael Bay

Michael Bay by JamJackEvo

Prereq: none

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Another omake that just wouldn't leave me alone. I really gotta scold my muse to focus more on my Haganai and Attack on Titan fics...

-o- -o- -o- -o- -o- -o- -o- -o-

An explosion rocked in the distance. And an explosion rocked right next to us.

We covered our ears, ducked, and let the gust of wind and smoke rush in front, through, and behind us.

"What the hell is going on?" Adam asked, and though for all the incredulity of the situation, the glare behind his mask was directed at me, as if I were the one at fault for the chaos.

Well, he wasn't wrong per se, but come on, I didn't exactly think this would be the result. Another explosion came to our still ringing ears in the distance.

"Remember how I can change genres?" I asked him back.

Realization came to him. "Didn't we already have enough trouble when you switched to Horror?"

"I know, I know, but I was so damned curious about this new genre I managed to unlock!"

"What kind of genre"—another explosion—"does this much chaos in seconds?"

"I don't know! It was just labelled as 'Michael Bay'!"


	3. Chapter 2: You look familiar

You look familiar by Daniel K. English

Prereq: Mission Start (Cont.)

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Really though, I am really anticipating a Weiss encounter. And then when they finally meet face-to-face at Beacon...

xXxXxXx

"You look familiar," she said, eyes narrowed.

I remembered her face from Blake's talks: Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. I knew her better as Little Miss Hostage. No doubt she remembered my face from her time on the airship; I needed to distract her from making that connection. Think, Jaune. Think! "Why, hello Snow Angel," I ended up saying in my most suave tone. "This must be fate. You and me here are the only ones that matter." I leaned forward and she took a step back. I smiled. "Why don't you melt into my arms and let me carry you away, princess?"

**Mastery of the skill Physical Endurance increases! Physical Endurance's level goes up by one!**

"How about no, you creep!"

I blinked as she huffed and stormed off. When she was out of sight I let myself relax, ignoring the snickering onlookers around me. That was waaay too close. I rubbed the cheek she slapped, feeling a slight sting despite my immunity to normal wounds. To think she would leave a mark when not even that Nevermore did. Women were terrifying.

...

**A skill has been created through a special action! Repeated flirting and courting has created the skill 'Sweet Talking' to woo hearts!**


	4. Chapter 3: Vomit girl

Vomit girl by JamJackEvo

Prereq: Objective

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I thought about the consequences if Weiss really was inside Moby D. when Jaune hijacks it and the ensuing adventure to the Faunus employees and back...

-o- -o- -o- -o- -o- -o- -o- -o-

Today was the day she'll be entering Beacon. She had prepared for this, she was going to make sure nothing could go wrong. Nothing must go wrong; her pride as a Schnee demanded it.

"Miss Schnee, terrible news," her butler called right before she could get into her limo that will take her to the Vytal Railway Transit. "There has been a derailment this morning and the VRT won't be servicing their trains till the crisis is resolved."

She cursed inside her head. "How long will this take?"

"According to the report, it would take all day."

She shivered. "But that means...!"

The butler grimly nodded.

Shivering intensified.

"Yes, Miss," her butler said. "You will have to take the Dust Plane like the rest of the new students."

She flashed back to her experience a year ago when the illusive sky pirate Jian Awesomepants had unknowingly tagged her along on his crazy, absolutely crazy and suicidal, adventure. The murder of Nevermores, the intense dogfights, the maniacal laughter of the pirate Faunus, the swing and sway of the White Whale as Jian pulled it through unbelievable maneuvers so insane and traumatizing for passengers that...

"Miss? Miss Schnee, are you all right? You've gone pale."

Her stomach danced and she rushed towards the nearest bathroom, holding onto her mouth for dear life.

-o- -o- -o- -o- -o- -o- -o- -o-

RWBY isn't the same without Vomit Boy, so now I gave us his replacement, Vomit Girl.

... damn, I'm cruel.


	5. Chapter 4: Kindred spirit

Kindred spirit by Tavarokk

Prereq: none

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"And finally," - started Headmaster once Blake's new team left the stage and our images appeared on the screens. - "Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie."

I could barely contain my excitement. This was my childhood dream coming true, the ambition pursuing which I landed myself in the horrible mess that was my last year. Here I stood before the eyes of countless fellow hunters, acknowledged by someone like Headmaster Ozpin who spoke in measured solemn tone with a hint - or so I wanted to believe - of pride.

Unfortunately, the gravity of the moment was thoroughly ruined by my teammates. Nora and Ruby heatedly chattered about recent boss fight, oblivious to the world (the things Nora did to that poor Deathstalker). Considering that not five minutes ago both were sulking about not landing on her friend's team and Crescent Rose's lack of armour penetration respectively, the shift in the mood was almost staggering. Yang, instead of reining them in, was focused on arranging her hair in the most flattering way possible, occasionally throwing a jealous glance in my direction. Apparently, between Gamer's Body and Disguise skills I managed to keep mine in good enough state that she felt threatened. It was made worse by the fact that I couldn't see the difference - or the point of looking for it, actually - no matter how I tried.

"The four of you have retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team Journey, led by Jaune Arc" - announced Headmaster with a dramatic pause before my name. I wished I could say it was a great and unexpected honour, but I got an impression that he didn't have much choice and I already could feel the crushing weight of responsibility settling on my shoulders. Literally, seeing how my teammates eagerly dogpiled me right in the middle of the ceremony.

"YAY!" - I wasn't sure, if it was Ruby, Nora, or they somehow achieved perfect synchronization already. The last thought was somewhat alarming.

"We're going to be the bestest Hunters ever!" - definitely Ruby this time.

"Nice job, Blondie!" - punched me in the shoudlder Yang, uncaring of the hypocrisy of calling me that.

"And we're going to kill loads of Grimm! It will be so much fun!" - gushed Nora in turn. - "And then we're going to rip their hearts out and eat them!"

"Let's not, they taste horrible"

Now, to give Nora some credit, she actually sounded a bit hesitant about that last part. Apparently the mood affected her and she got carried away somewhat. I, on the other hand, should really contemplate what to say, when, and how it may sound to others, I thought, as silence slowly spread across the hall and people stared.

"...I have made a terrible mistake" - I caught Ozpin's quiet mutter.


	6. Chapter 5: 'Aura Crash' Jian

'Aura Crah' Jian by Zameen

prereq: Noticed

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_When all else fails, Ram it! _

The Legend of Sky Captain "Aura Crash" Jian

Jaune hummed to himself as he piloted the airship. Spotting another Giant Nevermore, he smirked as he activated his Aura Crash ability and used it to knock the Grimm out of the sky. The first time he'd done it Blake had spent several minutes yelling at him for being 'reckless', but after the seventh flying Grimm had been run over she'd given up on trying to stop him. The feline Faunus was now hiding in her room, reading a book and pointedly ignoring the sudden bursts of acceleration that occurred whenever Jaune rammed into something, though she had come over to yell at him after he tried flying upside down for a bit. Even though that particular stunt had managed to level up his Driving skill, Jaune felt that it would be better for him not to try it again anytime soon. After all, there were some things even he was not sure he could recover from.

Seeing the Giant Nevermore recover and attempt to chase him, Jaune swung the ship around and ran into it again. The Grimm screeched as its wing broke under the force of Jaune's attack, falling rapidly until it crashed into the ground.

Repeated use of Aura Crash has caused it to level up!

You have maxed out the ability: Aura Crash!

Jaune closed the window and began cackling to himself. Oh, the things he could do with this...

-

Weiss staggered and tried not to fall as the ship lurched forwards suddenly. Once again the heiress wondered how the White Fang thought that they could get away with hijacking a top of the line airship, especially without anyone who knew how to pilot the blasted thing. Whoever was in the cockpit obviously had no idea what they were doing, repeatedly accelerating and stopping alarmingly, and even flying upside down at one point. A couple of times Weiss even could have sworn that she'd felt them run into something, though the ship didn't seem to have taken too much damage yet. Weiss felt that it was a minor miracle that they hadn't crashed yet, though it was probably only a matter of time with this madman at the wheel.

They had locked her into a room after hijacking the airship, but it seemed that the White Fang hadn't expected a spoiled high class heiress to be able to pick the lock. The turbulence and rocky piloting had thrown her off her game, but once she stopped throwing up it had only taken a few minutes for Weiss to break out of her restraints and force the door open. The Schnee heiress seethed as she made her way to the cockpit, her newly recovered rapier held tightly in her hands.

She was going to show these filthy terrorists exactly what happened when you messed with Weiss Schnee!

-

Weiss burst through the door and stalked into the room, her signature rapier held threateningly in her hand as she confronted the terrorist that had hijacked the ship.

"Oh, hi there, Miss Schnee." the masked man said cheerfully, not even fazed by the sharp weapon pointed at his throat. "Have a seat. Blake's resting now, but she said she'd drop by in a few hours with something to eat."

"What?! Y-you, how dare yo- LOOK OUT!" Weiss screamed as a massive Grimm appeared in the skies above them. The Giant Nevermore screeched loudly as it sent a wave of razor sharp feathers towards the White Whale before diving down to tear it to shreds with its claws.

"Oh, right! Give me a second..." the pilot said, seemingly perfectly calm as he caught sight of their impending doom.

Weiss once again struggled to maintain her balance as the airship moved faster then she believed possible, jerking to the side before rising rapidly to avoid the projectiles. The Nevermore itself barely missed, and Weiss could have sworn that it had a surprised expression on its face as it flew past them. For a moment, she thought that they were safe. It would take a few minutes for the Grimm to recover, time that they could use to flee the area. If they were fast enough, they had a chance to outrun the beast before it could attack them again.

Then she realized that the masked pilot was turning the ship around.

"What are you-"

"Relax, Miss Schnee. I know what I'm doing." he said, as he flew towards the Grimm why was he flying towards the giant Grimm oh god-

"Aura Crash!"

Weiss sat in the co pilot seat, pale and shaking as she struggled to process what had just happened. Beside her, the masked man began humming tunelessly as he flew them over a mountain range. He paused as he turned to speak to her.

"So, you ever traveled by airship before?"

"..."

The pilot didn't seem too bothered by her silence, continuing to speak cheerfully even as the Schnee heiress stared at him with wild, bloodshot eyes.

"Cause I noticed that you didn't seem too good when we first took off. If you want I could probably ask Blake to make you some herbal tea or something to help with the air sickness."

"..."

"You really should get something to eat later. No offense, but you're looking really pale. At your age you need to eat properly so that you can grow."

"... what." she asked, in a haunted voice.

"Do you like chicken?" he asked, oblivious to Weiss' tone. "Cause I think I saw some in the kitchen earli-"

"What the hell was that?!" she burst out, rising to her feet and pointing at him accusingly. "Y-you exploded a Grimm by ramming it with an airship! How is that even possible?!"

The man shrugged carelessly as he pulled a lever to drop their altitude. "Aura."

Weiss stood there, staring at the man in disbelief. "You do know that we have guns, right? You could have just shot it instead of doing... that."

"But where's the fun in that?" he said, almost childishly.

"Fun." she said flatly. "You decided to ram a Grimm with your airship because you thought it'd be... fun."

He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, when you put it that way..."

Weiss' fingers twitched towards her rapier. It would be so satisfying to stab the madman in front of her. What if it was contagious? She'd practically be doing the world a favor by stopping his madness from spreading into the general population...

The Schnee heiress paused as she noticed something. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"You might want to buckle up, Miss Schnee." he said cheerfully.

"Why are you flying us towards that mountain?" she asked, dread rising. He couldn't possibly-

"Going around this mountain range would take too long, and going over means running into more Nevermores. So I figured I might as well test out an idea that's been on my mind for awhile." he turned and gave her a thumbs up. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure this'll work."

"Oh god." Weiss whimpered. "We're all going to die."

"Oh, relax." he said. "I know what I'm doing. AURA CRASH!"

-

Thus began the legend of the notorious Sky Pirate Jian, who flies through mountains because going around them would take too long.


	7. Chapter 6: 'Aura Crash' Jian 2

'Aura Crash' Jian 2 by Zameen

prereq: Noticed, Part 1

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The Legend of Sky Captain "Aura Crash" Jian (Part 2)

"I already said I was sorry!" Jaune muttered sullenly to himself. "Jeez, you crash through one little mountain and suddenly it's 'stop doing that, Jian', and 'you're going to kill us all, Jian'. I've gotten us this far, haven't I?"

Beside him, Blake calmly turned a page in her book. "We would have arrived at our destination hours ago if someone hadn't decided to screw around and kill every flying Grimm he saw on the way."

"Oh, c'mon, Blake." he whined. "How many times will I get the chance to farm this much experience safely? I've leveled up twice and even managed to max out my Aura Crash ability."

"Don't care." the feline Faunus said bluntly, eyes firmly on the book in her hands. "We're behind schedule as it is. We can't afford to waste any more time on your obsession with ramming into things."

"But the loot, Blake! Think of the loot!" he said longingly. "We could be millionaires by now!"

"Your... loot is hundreds of miles below us, and if you think I'm going to let you land this airship every time you kill something just so that you can search its corpse for things that may or may not be there, you're even crazier then I thought." Blake turned a page. "Eyes front, pilot. You can screw around and get yourself killed in some insane flying accident after we finish the job."

"No appreciation, I tell you." Jaune muttered as he increased their altitude. A quick glance in the mirror revealed no Nevermores for miles around. It seemed that his little murder spree earlier had temporary depleted the local population. The masked pilot sighed mournfully as he turned back to the controls. "I've grinded and grinded, until I finally raised my Driving skill to over 50, and this is what I get? I've flown you guys all the way across the continent without getting caught, and you won't even let me have some fun. See if I ever volunteer the next time you need a pilot..."

"The last time I left you unsupervised, you flew over a hundred miles in the wrong direction chasing after a flock of Giant Nevermore, smashed your way through a mountain range, and managed to traumatize our hostage so badly she's spent the last half hour sitting in a corner and whimpering." Blake pointed at the pale figure shivering in the fetal position in the corner of the cockpit. "I'm not sure whether I should thank you for getting her to shut up or punish you for scaring her so badly, but it's obvious that I can't leave you to your own devices."

"Eh, she'll be fine." he said dismissively. "Just needs some time to get over her air sickness and she'll be right as rain once again, right Weiss?" he cheerfully called out towards the Schnee heiress. The white haired woman froze before turning to stare at him with haunted, hollow eyes.

"... you..." she hissed.

"See, perfectly fine." he said, fiddling with one of the dials.

"...you..." she growled.

"Yeah, I'm not convinced." Blake turned a page.

"... You..." Weiss stood suddenly, shaking hands reaching for her weapon. "You _insane, reckless, half witted little-"_

"Whoa, there, Princess." Jaune said, frowning as he turned towards the trembling heiress. "What's wrong? I get the feeling you're mad at me for some reason."

"Mad? Mad?!" Weiss snarled. "I'll show you mad!" She charged forward, lunging recklessly with her weapon. There was no trace of her usual skill or grace as she stabbed the masked pilot in the gut.

"... Ow!" Jaune yelped. "Blake, a little help here?"

"Eh, you'll be fine." Blake turned a page. "If anyone deserves the chance to stab you, she does. Don't worry, I'll pull her off you if she starts getting too enthusiastic."

"But this -ow!- is kinda -ow!- distrac -ow!- distracting, you know?" he cried out, trying to fend off Weiss' attacks with one hand while piloting with the other.

"WHY. WON'T. YOU. DIE?!" the Schnee heiress growled, stabbing him again and again. Throat. Heart. Lung. Kidney. No matter where she stabbed, he just. Wouldn't. Die.

Blake turned a page.

Thus began the legend of the infamous Sky Pirate Jian, the man who would not die _no matter how many times you stabbed him god dammit how the hell is he still alive?!_


	8. Chapter 7: 'Aura Crash' Jian 3

'Aura Crash' Jian 3 by Zameen

prereq: Noticed, Part 2

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The Legend of Sky Pirate "Aura Crash" Jian (Part 3)

"Will you _stop doing that?!_" The masked man growled. "It's kinda hard to concentrate on flying an airship when some crazy lady keeps trying to kill you."

Weiss paused, panting for breath as she glared at him. Gone was the perfect, elegant image known to the public. Her hair was disheveled, her clothes were filthy, and her bloodshot eyes kept twitching disturbingly. Her body was aching and covered in sweat, her hands were shaking, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd had something to eat.

Right now, though, that was all secondary to the fact that the insane masked pilot in front of her was _still not dead_.

"I... don't know... what trick you're using," she gasped, a gleam of madness shining brightly in her eyes. "but I will find a way to get through it somehow. You can't keep your guard up forever!"

Jaune groaned and resisted the urge to bang his head on the wall. Three hours. Three _hours_ since the formerly calm and collected Schnee heiress had snapped and began attempting to kill him. So far he'd been stabbed, shot, set on fire, electrocuted, frozen solid, and beaten over the head with a frozen chicken.

He didn't even want to know _where_ she'd gotten it from, or how she had managed to imbue it with enough Aura to make it strong enough to fracture his skull.

Sure, it's not like she could kill him faster then he could regenerate, and he'd even managed to double his Physical Endurance ability, but this was just getting annoying.

Turning towards his companion, he was unsurprised to see Blake sitting in the co pilots chair, calmly reading the same book. She'd gotten a cup of tea from somewhere. He watched her take a small, delicate sip before sighing in satisfaction. Noticing his gaze, the feline Faunus held up the cup. "Want some?"

"... maybe later." he replied tiredly. "For now, could you please make her stop trying to kill me? The first few times were pretty painful, but now that I'm barely taking any damage from her attacks it's just getting annoying."

Weiss seemed less then pleased with his words, launching into a stream of profanity that included more then a few words that a girl her age really shouldn't know. "-and when I'm done with all that, I swear by all that is good and holy that _I will murder you in your sleep!"_

"Yeah, that's not going to happen." Jaune replied blandly. "I don't sleep anymore."

Weiss' hate filled glare intensified as she once again reached for her rapier. "Yeah, right. You'll have to rest at some point, and when you do..." she mimed stabbing him repeatedly in gruesome detail.

"Actually, he's being serious." Blake piped up. "I don't think he's slept in the last... four days, was it?"

"Five, actually." he corrected her. "Reading up all the blueprints and flight manuals took longer then I thought, then I got distracted by a treatise on Aura healing techniques, and, well..."

Weiss stood there, her body completely still and unmoving as she listened to what they were saying. Then, slowly, with great care, she turned towards Blake. "That... that explains _so much_. Why the hell did you think it'd be a good idea to bring him along?!"

Blake shrugged before taking another sip of her drink while Jaune snorted in amusement. "Well, it's not like they could put an advert in the paper." he pointed out. "Can you imagine? _'Airship pirate wanted for daring hijacking attempt. Experience with kidnapping young maidens a plus. Apply at your nearest White Fang hideout today_.'"

"... the worst part is that you're actually _making sense_." Weiss groaned, dropping to her knees in despair. "I am going to die on this god forsaken airship because the only pilot you could find is completely _insane_."

"Oh, please. We haven't crashed yet, have we?" the masked pilot said reassuringly. "I can assure you that you're riding with one of the best pilots in the world right now."

Weiss ignored him, muttering to herself as dark clouds of despair began to form over her head. "I'm too young to die! I haven't even had a boyfriend before! What could I have done to deserve this?"

"You know, if it's a boyfriend you're looking for-" he said hopefully.

"Finish that sentence and I will _throw you out the window_."

"He's the only one here who can pilot the airship, Weiss." Blake pointed out. "Besides, I'm pretty sure even that won't be enough to kill him."

"Maybe if I dropped him into a volcano?" the Schnee heiress said thoughtfully. "But the closest one is halfway across the continent..."

"Aaand I think now would be a good time to change the subject." Jaune interrupted. "Miss Schnee, what would it take to convince you not to kill me?"

Both the girls turned to stare at him. Blake seemed slightly amused, while Weiss' expression was twisted between rage and disbelief.

"Would it help if I said please?" he asked hopefully.

Weiss smiled at him in a sickeningly sweet manner, "Why, sure! After all, you only stole my family's airship, kidnapped me, took us thousands of miles away from home, deliberately drew the attention of every flying Grimm between Vale and Mistral, and _flew through a goddamn mountain_ because you thought going around it would take too long!"

"Well, when you put it that way..."

"When I get out of here, I am going to dedicate every waking moment of my life to my revenge." she snarled, with an expression that would have made a bloodthirsty, man eating Grimm back away in fear. "I will go to the most prestigious training academies available, rising through the Hunter ranks until I become the most dangerous of them all. I will hire the deadliest bounty hunters and mercenaries available and beg, borrow, or steal the most advanced equipment I can get my hands on all so that I can one day _hunt you down and put you out of my misery_!"

Jaune sighed before turning towards her. "I was afraid of this. It seems that I will have to resort to.. Plan B."

Weiss tensed, her blade gripped tightly as she prepared to defend herself. "Oh? And what's that?"

"I will show you.. the _truth_!" he said, reaching up to remove his mask. Weiss' eyes widened, her sword dropping out of her numb fingers to clatter loudly on the floor. Behind her, Blake choked on her tea.

"No..." Weiss whispered. "No, you can't be..."

"Search your feelings, Weiss." he said, stepping forward. The Schnee heiress stumbled away from him, trying desperately to deny what she was seeing. "You know it to be true."

"No! You're lying!" she screamed defiantly. "You're not... you can't be..."

"Oh, but I am." he smiled. "Weiss, I am your _father_."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

-

Thus began the legend of the Sky Pirate Jian, who everyone knew was secretly the head of the Schnee corporation in disguise.

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fun fact, on SB, Ryuugi's avatar is vader going 'whos your daddy'

just in case that punch line didn't make sense.


	9. Chapter 8: We're training pirates

We're training pirates by NeverwhereCM

Prereq: Noticed (Cont)

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Later, on the ground:

Jaune (Unconscious Wiess over his shoulder, Crocea Mors back in the sword/gauntlets), Adam, Blake and Torchwick are all staring at each other.

Jaune: *frowning* Wait. If we're all down here... then who stole the White Whale?

Meanwhile:

Ozpin (To a horrified looking Glynda): I always wanted a flying school. That's why Beacon is built on the cliff, you see.

Glynda: *fist clenched around wand, shaking as she controls her rage* We are not training hunters here.

Ozpin: *Sips his coffee* Of course not. We're training _pirates._

And that's about when Glynda lost control and blew out the engines in a blind fury, making the ship crash right next to the would-be-thieves.


	10. Chapter 9: More like guidelines

More like guidelines by God and the Snake

Prereq: Noticed (Cont)

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_Now she's going to think he's with the attackers._

*At Beacon*

Weiss: "Well, if you want to know Torchwick's plans, then maybe you should ask Jaune." *glare*

*Awkward silence*

Jaune: "Uh... well, I was actually working with the White Fang on that one."

*Awkward silence intensifies*

*Everyone stares at Jaune*

Yang: "Don't you have to be a faunus to be a member of the White Fang?"

Jaune: "It's more a recommendation then an actual rule."


	11. Chapter 10: Im Not Crazy

Im not crazy by Enothree

Prereq: High Value Targer

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I keep seeing him, over and over again.  
>I'm not crazy.<br>That friendly worker who gave me sage advice, only to be brutally murdered in the dark right next to me.  
>His murder in a Grimm mask, taunting me from the shadows right behind me.<br>I'm not crazy.  
>White Fang's insane pilot, so utterly divorced from the other two.<br>A rumored master of a forgotten martial art, so different yet so similar.  
>A glimpse of a strange gambler who I saw out of the corner of my eye.<br>I'm not crazy.  
>None of them exist.<br>I'm not crazy.  
>No matter how hard I search, all I can find are the odd reference to people with those jobs, whose descriptions are most definitely not the same.<br>I'm not crazy. I'm sure of that.  
>But then why don't any of them exist outside of my head? Why hasn't anyone else met them?<br>I'm not crazy. I'm not I'm not I'm not.  
>And right now. Beacon entrance ceremony. Not two yards away, is him. All of those people, brought down to a simple human face.<br>It's him. The mechanic. The murderer. The pilot, the fighter, the gambler. It's him.  
>I'm not crazy. I'm not I was right here he is he's right there-<br>And he's looking at me.  
>And he recognizes me.<br>His face twists into a pained, grim smile.  
>He mouths the words "I'm sorry."<br>And then I blink and he's gone, somehow vanished in a fraction of a second.  
>No one notices anything odd. As a matter of fact, not a single other person seemed to have noticed him vanishing.<br>As if he was never there at all.  
>I'm not crazy I'm not crazy I'm not crazy I'm not crazy I'm not crazy I'm not crazy I'm not crazy I'm not crazy I'm not crazy I'm not crazy I'm not crazy.<p> 


	12. Chapter 11: Nightmare

Nightmare by Daniel K. English

Prereq: High Value Target

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"A nightmare?"

Weiss flinched before focusing on the shifting form of Blake in the darkness. Between the sisters' snoring and the time, Weiss didn't think she'd wake anyone. Then again, Blake was a faunus.

"I'm fine." Weiss's voice sounded like a whisper. I'm not scared I'm not scared. "Sorry for waking you."

"No problem," was the cool response.

Stupid White Fang and stupid nightmares and-

"Blake?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know about the White Whale?"

There was a pause. Yang mumbled something in her sleep.

"Yes, I do," answered Blake.

Weiss curled up beneath her sheets. It was nearly summer yet she felt so cold in the darkness. Her nightmare. Her memory. Both haunted her like the ghost she saw. "The White Fang attacked during the presentation," she said. "I'm sure you know about it."

"Weiss, I-"

"Shut up and let me finish." Her words were harsher than she wanted them to be. Cold. She was shaking. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to relax. It didn't work. Still cold. "My father... he brought me along for the presentation. Me and my sister. While he gave the presentation, Winter and I were supposed to be in the waiting room inside the office building." The day played itself in her mind, like a video on her scroll. "My sister was being... difficult. I excused myself." She swallowed. Whether or not Blake was still listening, she didn't care. She couldn't stop herself from talking. Not now. "I went outside and onto the ship. I... wanted to get away. Run away. From everything. The ship would go to Mistral and I'd get off and disappear. I hated being there. And I hated myself for thinking about running away."

More snoring. Weiss could see Blake's eyes focused on her. "On the ship, I met one of my dad's employees. His name was Hamelin." The name sounded light when she said it. If she didn't know any better, it would have been affectionate. "He walked me through the ship. Talked to me. It was like he knew what I was thinking. He knew..."

Blake was silent when Weiss fought to retain her composure.

"He was stupid." Light blue eyes watered. "And then the White Fang attacked. The ship... on the ship, one of them boarded. He was like a monster. He... Hamelin... he killed Hamelin. And I was right there. I couldn't do anything. One moment it was Hamelin, and the next he was gone.

"Since then, I haven't... I can't." She trailed off, burying her face into her knees.

Blake finally spoke. "Weiss. Is that why... is Hamelin why you don't look at the feet of your bed?"

Through the hushed sniffling and sobbing, Blake heard her teammate answer.

"He's there. Watching me. Dying. Asking me why I didn't save him. I couldn't save him. I didn't know. I'm sorry, Hamelin." More sobs. Blake became aware of the silence in the room save the weeping heiress. No more snoring. She saw Ruby listening from her bed. The movements from the bed above Blake told her Yang was also listening in.

Weiss didn't seem to notice. "I'm sorry, Hamelin. Forgive me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

xxxxx

FEEL THE MISERY TASTE THE MISERY  
>WAIT WHAT AM I DOING I SHOULD BE WORKING ON AFTOTH aaaaahhhhhh<p> 


	13. Chapter 12: Well played, Jian

For those who don't know, on febuary second, Monty Oum died of an alergic reaction during a medical prodedure. These next few omakes are being released to honor his dying wish. He wanted creativity. Im a very poor writer, so instead I will be sharing these omakes with you.

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Well played, Jian by Tabi

Prereq: High Value Target

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[During the OPERATION: Rescue the Faunus]

Weiss couldn't help but squeak in mild terror as Jian pulled her onto the stage with him, the masked cat faunus and her accomplice flanking them. The Schnee hieress couldn't help but feel a moan of horror climbing up her throat as a literal sea of faunas greeted them.

The White Whale was crammed with no less than ten thousand faunua from the Company Town, from the menegarie of pain and suffering that her own family had cheerfully condoned.

"Shh, straighten up now. There's nothing to be afraid of, Miss Schnee," whispered the tiger faunas next to her. Startled, Weiss looked up into Jian's eyes and hated herself for it. "No harm will befall you. That, I promise."

Biting back a scowl, Weiss clenched her teeth and tried to keep the fear out of her face as a set of eyes from the crowd settled down on her.

Recognition filled those eyes and soon more and more eyes focused on her. There was hatred, fear, anger, and triumph in those eyes. Some had pity. Others had sadness. Most, if not all, saw her and wanted to hurt her.

Despite herself, she pressed herself closer to Jian, shivering from the sheer hate being directed towards her.

The hate seemed to magnify as they reached the very edge of the stage, threatening to spill over and give way to outright violence as shouts and slurs were thrown at her direction.

That is, until Jian spoke.

"Today is a great day, my friends. You are free! Free to make new and better lives without the oppression of the Dust company, free to live the way you wish and with the freedom all faunus deserve."

A roar of approval filled the air, almost shaking the very walls of the airship around them.

"But...today would not have been possible without a very special young woman." All eyes fell on her again, expectation and anticipation filling their faces. They wanted to lynch her, Weiss realized with dawning horror. She couldn't blame them; the things the Schnee company had done to them, was terrible beyond reproach. But she didn't know! She didn't-

"That young woman is none other than Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company!" He announced. Faunus surged towards them with a roar of approval and bloodlust. Weiss forced herself to remain still as the first of them almost reached the stage.

Suddenly everything went silent. Every person in front of them had gone still, their faces paling, their expressions slowly becoming fearful.

Weiss wondered why they stopped, before she followed their gaze and looked up.

Jian looked like the legendary tiger faunus he claimed to have descended from. Etched upon every inch of his face was disappointment. Even when she wasn't being focused on, she felt herself feeling shame!

"You all disappoint me," he said, shaking his head. "Without Miss Schnee's help. None of this would be possible."

What.

Wiess turned back towards the crowd. Hundreds were beginning to look doubtful; whether of Jian's words or of their assumptions, she couldn't tell. Some however, took his words at face value and began to clap.

Not for him. Not for the White Fang.

For her.

Dawning comprehension flooded her as she realized that she was being given the credit for this.

For freeing them from her own family. That she had helped the White Fang.

Despite her mind calling for her to deny this, to tell the truth, Weiss couldn't help but wonder...was it really that bad a thing?

The faunus were no longer crowing for her head, but crying praises and tearful thanks to her. Their faces no longer bore hate and anger, but hope.

Was this what Jian had said before? About doing the right thing?

Weiss couldn't help but smile slightly, as a little faunus girl with cat ears ran up to the stage, holding a small white flower towards her.

With only a moment's hesitation, she took it.

-

She punched him in the face the moment they were out of sight.

"You bastard!" Weiss snarled. "You-! You-! You utter...bastard!"

Jian didn't stop her, even as her fists began to tire and her legs came up and struck him between the legs, to no effect. She kept hitting him, kicking, slapping, even biting him. It all ended when he held her arms, letting her head rest on his chest.

"You utter bastard."

Face pressed against his chest, she couldn't help but smile as she remember the little girl's smiling face. It had been full of despair, sadness, and all the things no child should have. But when Weiss had taken the flower, that little girl's face lit up like a sun coming out of the clouds to shine it's rays on a rainy day.

Well played, Jian. Well fucking played.


	14. Chapter 13: Where in the world?

Where in the world? By theArcanist

Prereq: Transfer

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"It's almost time, sir."

The police chief bit down on his cigar, his jaw working in annoyance. He glances at his watch - 11:57.

Three minutes until Neverman would strike again.

It always started the same way - he'd send a calling card ahead of time, his infamous mask wrapped in a feathered cloth. The first time it came across his desk, he'd dismissed it out of hand - what sane person wouldn't? The crazy bastard claimed he'd steal the Signal Tower. Not the communication equipment inside, not any of the art adorning it, no, the tower itself - he(if it was a 'he', the chief still wasn't completely sure on that matter) made that point very clear.

He'd laughed and sent a small squad to pick up whatever silly vandals would come to deface the tower - he'd seen it plenty of times before.

Until, that is, it actually happened.

At the appointed time, he appeared and gave some grandstanding speech about how this was his 'stellar debut' and how the police present should be 'honored to behold it' or some crap like that. He didn't really blame his men for not picking up what he was saying, because by all reports the theft wasn't all that subtle.

And by 'not subtle', I mean 'he used a goddamn fucking earthquake to knock the tower loose from its foundations.'

And then - I swear I'm not making this up, there's Dustcam footage and everything - the entire tower fucking levitates and flies off.

Oh, but at least he was gracious enough to return it the next day - with a note taped to the front door about how he was 'so grateful he got to make his call.'

Smug asshole.

And now, he was threatening to steal the leaves from every tree in the southern reach of Forever Falls. Why? Fuck if he knew. Maybe he'd 'return' them the next day in the biggest leaf pile in Vale's history. Maybe giving him a stroke was how he got his kicks.

But this time, that punk was going down. Not only had he mobilized half of his precinct, he'd even managed to convince a few teachers from Beacon to help with the stakeout - Forever Falls was one of their prime training spots, after all.

And then, as the clock struck midnight, he heard it. That smug fucking laugh.

"Police Chief Calico! How good of you to join us!"

Just like always, the taunt seemed to come from everywhere at once, making it impossible to pin down his location.

But this time - he was ready. He'd spent the weeks since receiving the calling card carefully planning for this day - organizing patrols and setting up surveillance equipment specifically to ensure there weren't any blind spots.

"Get ready, lieutenant. If 'Neverman' so much as sneezes in Forever Fall's direction, I want to be the first to know."

Another chortle echoes into the chief's ear. "Sneeze, you say? Well, why don't we test that little theory?"

A sneeze - enormously loud and booming, and exaggerated - echoes across the forest. In its wake, a massive pale of wind swept through the valley. Calico had to brace himself against a rock to keep himself from being swept away, but his attention was immediately drawn to the trees around him.

'Oh, you have GOT to be joking.' The force of the wind was shearing away every last leaf, and they were spirited away before disappearing into the midnight sky.

"Oh, excuse me, Chief! I think I may be coming down with something..." An echoing laugh... and then silence.

He bites down even further on what remains of his cigar - almost hard enough to cut it clean in two.

He'd made a fool of him - again.

Questions pelted his mind - how did he elude his sentries? How'd he control the goddamn fucking weather? Why leaves, of all things?

But above all else, one question stood out - where in the world was the Neverman now?


	15. Chapter 14: Can i have your autograph?

Can I have your autograph? By ZopLopz

Prereq:

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_**Prinny The Gamer said: **_

_**You know, we were talking about Emerald being a "Master Theif" in her debut episode...**_

_**Neverman just stole the White Whale in front of Schnee, successfully escaped, and then, if all goes according to plan, steals a WHOLE town. Does that mean Neverman will be Emerald's new idol?**_  
><em><strong>Someone make an Omake of this!<strong>_

_I can't make this a proper one, seeing as it's on my mobile. Buuut, hora, why not?_

_Since I can't explain everything because typing like this is time-consuming, I'll try to put what little I could._

_Basically, Jaune decided to out himself (at this point, he would be strong enough to at least put up a decent fight against the big threats he probably has trying to kill him and get away only mildly injured). He did it while his and the other Teams were nearby (also including Emerald and the other 'transfer students')._

Emerald STARED at the put-out blonde goofball, who was guiltily holding the very same Mask (it had gained such a level of notoriety that some believed that, yes, it deserved to be capitalized) that the enigmatic and coldly cunning NeverMan wore.

The NeverMan, who had once had the lives of the SDC CEO and his Heiress in the palm of his hands, and also stole the White Whale. His reputation had reached a point that people thought mentioning his name would summon him from whatever mysterious fold of reality that he seemed to hide in.

The girl opened her mouth, attempting to make a statement, but her teeth clicked together as she couldn't gather her thoughts. She tried again and failed. So, Emerald just opted for the first thing her mind told her to do.

She quickly snatched away the nearest pen and piece of paper she could get her hands on, stuck them out with a shy look in her eyes and, given the context of the situation, asked one of the oddest questions Jaune would ever hear during his time at Beacon.

"Can I have your autograph?" Emerald asked nervously. "I'm a big fan of your work."

"What?" The boy blinked. "But my work was essentially terrorism on a mass scale."

"Who cares about that? I'm talking about the White Whale! All of us thieves and con's could never pull that off and you did it by YOURSELF!"

"I had help..." Jaune muttered quietly.

"How'd you even do it in the first place?" The undercover girl asked curiously, unconsciously leaning onto him.

"I'm not the only one who's weirded out by this, right?" Mercury ask of the others as his colleague continued to pepper the revealed NeverMan for questions.

Team RWBY and the rest of Team JNPR (even Nora!) shook their heads numbly.

"C'mon, you can't even give a hint?" Emerald pleaded, having leaned far too close for the blonde's comfort.

"L-Look, I'm not going to talk about how I stole the White Whale." Jaune gulped. It was one of Beacon's breaks during the school year, and in part due to the lenient rules involving uniforms, everybody had taken the chance to change into their casual attire. It seemed to be a turn of Luck (good or bad, Jaune didn't know) that Emerald's usual outfit included a top that showed a LOT of cleavage. Adding in the way her arms were pushing her bust together and how much she was leaning in, Jaune felt that even the Gamer's Mind could not keep his thoughts in order.

Pyrrha thankfully noticed and (with a hint of jealousy) began to come to her leader's defense. "Emerald, I think you might be making Jaune a little uncomfortable."

"Huh?" The addressed girl raised an eyebrow at her. "Why would I make him awkward when he dangled little Miss Snow Angel high in the air without a second thought?"

"That's right, I still haven't gotten my vengeance for that!" Weiss had a look on her face that would send even the most vicious Beowolf yelping like a new born pup and pulled out Myrtenaster. Before she could make her way forward, the rest of Team RWBY tackled her.

Firstly, they didn't want her charged for attempted assault and murder (even if it was justified). Secondly, if Jaune really WAS the NeverMan, the girls thought that Weiss wouldn't have a chance of winning and they wanted to save her the heartbreak that all of her training still didn't amount to the infamous criminal.

While Team RWBY descended into a scuffle of their own, Pyrrha was still trying to convince Emerald. "I'm his teammate, so of course I'd know how he'd act!"

"If you really knew him, then you'd have known about him being the NeverMan as well. You were just as much in the dark as I was!" The dark-skinned girl grinned in triumph as the four-time tournament champion flinched at her words. What she didn't notice was that she'd leaned so far on Jaune that her bust was practically pushed into his face and she was all but straddling him, aggravating Pyrrha even further.

"Uhh..." Jaune gulped as his teammate began to reach for her spear and shield. Inwardly, he was rating Pyrrha's expression as a seven out of ten on the Murderous Glare Scale he'd set up a while back.

She was good, but Jaune had seen better. 'Still, Pyrrha's such a nice girl, but she's got one hell of a mean look there.' He thought.

"All I need to know is how NeverMan,-" Pyrrha snarled at the reverent tone in her voice."-stole the White Whale."

"What you NEED to know is that you're making him uncomfortable, you she-thief!" The spear-wielder wasn't usually one for insults, but at that point, her temper had taken control.

Emerald's eyes narrowed. "Well, Ms Nikos, we are at an impasse."

Pyrrha bared her teeth. "So it seems."

"Uh, girls..." Ren interjected.

"WHAT!?" The duo turned their heads to shout at him.

"He already left." Ren deadpanned, pointing a finger.

The girls blinked. After a few seconds to think, his words finally registered properly and their heads snapped back to where Jaune was.

Or rather, where Jaune was not. Apparently, at some point during the argument, he'd managed to sneak away. Emerald stumbled after realizing that she'd been leaning on air for who-knows-how-long. In his place was a folded piece of paper. Pyrrha picked it up and opened it, reading the contents aloud.

'Girls, your negotiation (read: borderline bitch-ocalypse) was getting a bit much, so I left.

Sincerely, Jaune.

P.S. Emerald, look at your paper.'

The girl blinked and did as she'd been told. What came out her mouth was an uncharacteristic squeal of delight.

On the paper she'd snatched earlier was the name, The NeverMan, written in intricate handwriting.

On a side-note, Jaune thought his Gamer ability was bullshit when he'd gotten the Calligraphy Skill after getting his hands on a pamphlet titled 'How to Write in Cursive'.

"When...no, HOW did he...?" Mercury gaped.

"I need to find him." Emerald gained a predatory glint in her eyes. "I need to know!" And she was off.

"Not if I find him first!" Pyrrha made a chilling battle cry and quickly followed.

"Get in line, you two! He has to answer to ME first!" Weiss sprinted after them, Myrtenaster drawn and her clothes ruffled from her earlier fight with Team RWBY. Speaking of which, the girls were frozen in large icicles with a frantic look on their faces that told the remaining people, 'Stop her!'.

"I'll go after them." Ren gave a sigh of long suffering. "But I need to get my weapon first." The boy made sure to deliberately take as long as he could to retrieve his Storm Flowers. He was a good fighter, yes, but there was no way whatsoever he was getting involved in the 'bitch-ocalypse', as Jaune had aptly put it. "Nora, break Team RWBY out of the ice, will you?"

The orange-haired girl gave a wide grin as she reached for Magnhild. "Oh, no problem, Ren~." She called out in a sing-song voice.

Facing the very real possibility of becoming blown up by an enthusiastic Nora, the girls' looks quickly changed to 'Oh this will not end well.'

"But...wha...?" Mercury was still stunned.

"Where had it all gone so wrong?" Cinder face-palmed. Dismissing her self-pity quickly, the undercover 'student' decided to just get back to her homework. She could poke and prod the Arc boy for answers later.

'But still, we enrolled into what was essentially the NeverMan's hideout. That boy, no, man is clever for choosing a place we would never anticipate. Now how do we go about recruiting him?' The sorceress contemplated.

Then Cinder frowned as her paper and pen that she needed for her essay were gone. A growing sense of rage welled in the woman as she realized where they went. "EEEEEEMEEEERRRRAAAAAALLLLLLLLD!"

And thus the chase for the NeverMan gained another participant.


	16. Chapter 15: Someday

Someday by cj304

Prereq: Escape

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The usually boisterous club was silent, everyone staring at the wall-mounted televisions displaying the special News coverage of the event that tentatively been labeled "The Awakening of the Great Beast". A harried looking news anchor was giving a very shaky summery of the day's events, while a small square display took up a corner of the screen, displaying a 24/7 live feed of the Mountain that had hastily been renamed "Ziz's Throne". So far, there had been no further movement.

Thank Monty.

Adam slammed his empty glass down on the bar, then turned to Junior, who was behind the bar, and asked for a refill.

"Get me another, make it a triple" glancing to his left he saw that Blake's glass was empty as well, clutched in a white-knuckled grip. "And one for her too"

Junior turned to Adam, gave him a brief one-over, then wordlessly slid a bottle of whiskey across the bar to them before he went back to drinking straight from the bottle of rum in his hands.

Grabbing the bottle, Adam refilled his drink, then he drained it and refilled it again before he filled Blake's glass. Then he downed the glass again, and when he had tilted his head forwards again he saw that Blake was holding her empty glass in his direction, wordlessly asking for another refill. He filled her glass again, then his, then he clinked their glasses together in a wordless toast. And then because he felt that he needed to repeat the words aloud he stated to the world at large for the fifty-seventh time that evening:

"I am so fucking glad we weren't on that plane."

Nodding her head furiously, Blake tipped her head back and swallowed the rest of her drink. "So glad" she gasped out, her voice hoarse from the alcohol.

"Well, at least with the armies mobilizing to blockade the mountain-range security will be light when he pulls off the extraction and drop-off" he said aloud, voice tinged with the bleak, morbid humor of a man laughing at a trainwreck setting of a set of fireworks.

Groaning, Blake thumped her head on the bar counter, "Shut up Adam, just shut up". Not raising her head from its resting place, she thrust her hand, still clutching her once-more empty glass, at him and asked for more alcohol. "Just give me more liquor"

Wordlessly, Adam did just that, then poured himself another drink.

They were going to need a lot more Whiskey at this rate...

-

Across town, a blonde girl and a redhead stared at their television screen from their couch, hugging each other for dear life.

Slowly, almost against her will, the redhead's eyes were drawn from the tv to her precious warscythe, leaning against the couch within easy reach. They traveled back and forth, going from the television, to the scythe, and back again, making measurements and adjusting for scale, her mind working furiously on calculations about weight ratios and metal durability.

"Hey Yang..." she ventured to the blonde still hugging her.

"Yes Ruby" her sister replied somewhat cautiously, a feeling of dread building in her gut at the tone of voice

Ruby Rose turned to face her sister fully, her eyes shining with sparkles of weapons to come, an adorable smile completing the visage

"I think I'm going to need a bigger scythe!"

-

Weiss Schnee wasn't really sure what to think about her present circumstances, or about anything anymore, really.

When she had been returned to the ground after she had been recovered from mid-air by that bullhead, she had expected her father to be furious with her for her weakness, for being captured while loitering somewhere she had had no reason to be found. For being unable to protect the White Whale from that man in the mask... (For letting that man, one of their own employees, who tried to lend her a kind ear, die, a part of her mind whispered).

She had expected him to shout at her, to berate her, to scold her, to express his disappointment.

She hadn't expected him to rush over and hug her.

_"Your father must love you a great deal"_

When the ships had set off to chase the White Whale, she had opted to stay with her father, abet surrounded by a small army of bodyguards, to see if the ship would be recovered. To see how much her failure would cost her company.

One moment she had been watching as General Ironwood and Headmaster Ozpin had stood side by side with her father, watching from Scroll-feed as things progressed, when there had been an explosion of noise in the distance, and a funnel of flame that had been visible to everyone there, happening simultaneously while Ironwood started swearing up a storm and the notoriously calm Ozpin had given a start at the screen, while her father had locked eyes with her and started running in her direction while he barked orders left and right, even as he picked up speed.

The moments after that had been a blur to her as she had been transported to a safety bunker of some kind, her sister being bundled in with her by her bodyguards as her father barked orders at his Scroll, activating projects that she had never even heard of before, telling people to activate every guard robot they had, telling prototypes to be made field ready a.s.a.p. Even now, sitting across from her and Winter, within arms reach of each of them where he could see them both whenever he looked up from his Scroll, he was mobilizing everything the Schnee Company had, and unless she had missed her guess or heard wrong, he was having a good portion of it sent to this location to protect her and her sister while he arranged for them to be transported to the far side of the continent.

_"Your father must love you a great deal"_

Those words echoed in her mind.

They had seemed like a taunt when he had spoken them, but had taken on a new meaning in the time that had passed

Weiss Schnee wasn't sure what she should think about this day, she wasn't sure wasn't sure what to think about her circumstances, and she wasn't even really sure what she was supposed to think about life in general anymore.

Strangely, she had the oddest urge to write a new song.

-

Elsewhere, there was a girl with crimson hair and the gait of a warrior, armor and weapons shining in the light

And in another place, there was a boy of dark hair and garbed in green, serene as the river

Elsewhere still, there was a girl with orange hair and a bright disposition, hammer in her hands and thunder in her heart

They all felt the same thing. An inkling, a feeling, a premonition, a promise

**Someday**


	17. Chapter 16: While he was Sleeping

While he was Sleeping by God and the Snake

Prereq: Escape

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Jaune desperately tried to settle his shaking hands. He hadn't felt fear, true fear, since he'd unlocked his Semblance. Gamer's Mind had always kept it suppressed, even when he'd jumped down the gullet of a Giant Nevermore to get at the squishy bits within. And even now, he wasn't scared.

He was terrified.

After two minutes of silently jittering, Jaune smashed his quivering hands into the cockpit wall. Breathing deeply, he started taking stock. The mission still had to go on, even with this threat to Vale. First thing, he'd have t-  
><em><br>Uh, hello?_

Jaune froze, eyes dancing around the pilots cabin, searching for the origin of the strange voice.

_Are you there?  
><em>  
>After a few pregnant moments, Jaune answered, drawing upon his years of social experience.<p>

"Buh?"

Oh, good. You hear me. Kind of worried you wouldn't, with you being sort of new to this whole 'being Grimm' thing. Didn't really think you'd have much of a chance to practice: The rest of the guys around here aren't the talkative types. Well, unless it's about maiming humans. Or other Grimm. Or anything really. Once talked to a Deathstalker who ranted for ten minutes about this tree he'd stung. What a chatterbox, right?

"Buh?"

_Oh, right, yeah, you probably don't know who I am. Sorry. Most everyone I talk to at least has an inclination. Kind of hard to mistake me for someone else. But I've been out of the game for a while, so I get it. I'm Ezizekal Sims. My friends call me Ziz. You can to, if you want. The real name doesn't really roll off the tongue, does it?_

Jaune twitched just a little bit as the voice claiming to be the almighty messenger of god went into a tangent about his parents taste in names.

_I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the bejeesus out of them, but they can just be so difficult some times, you know? They didn't exactly make my life easy growing up either. One time, when I was having Heme over - really sweet girl, by the way - they -  
><em>  
>Jaune cut him off. "Y-you're Ziz?"<p>

_Uh, yeah. I'm guessing that you're one of the humans in the... flying metal... egg... bird... things? I'm sorry, I have no idea what they're called - which is part of my current dilemma, really.  
><em>  
>"Dilemma?" <p>

_Well, you see, I, uh, have kind of been sleeping for a while. Like, last time I saw a human, you guys were living in mud huts. Now you're flying! Congrats on that by the way. Really moving up in the world. But, well, I'm kind of lost on what exactly's going on right now._

And so Jaune found himself forced into giving a fifteen minute long lecture (something he'd find himself doing quite a bit over the next few weeks) about artificial flight to a five hundred feet tall, winged monstrosity of legend.

-

I dunno. I just kind of started thinking about what if Ziz was an average guy who was just confused as hell about all the shit that's happened since he fell asleep. Like Captain America, but a mountain sized bird monster rather then a really ripped WW2 vet.


	18. Chapter 17: How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother by JamJackEvo

Prereq: Escape

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_Ryuugi said: ↑_

_Not so much as a glimmer of industrialization, of things shaped by muscle or  
>machine, I saw an almost impossibly long slope of pure<br>white snow, until it gave way at last to land in the distance._

A large cliff overlooked the land beyond the snow. I remembered this place to be a forest that was a natural habitat for packs of Beowolves, the close-knit kind that attacked by the hundreds whenever they sense Aura-laden prey.

More distractions would help keep the tail away from me, so I swooped the ship low and fired its arsenal upon the woods. My attack awakened a pack-no, that was too small in scale, because what I was seeing was a freaking horde-and they gravitated on my ship, if only for a moment before I activated Aura Crash for the shield effect. The White Whale entered a large clearing and...

... were those Beowolf corpses disintegrating?

This looked like a different pack, centering on a different enemy, who seemed to have dispatched most of them to a mere half-dozen. The odds were gone and their prey-who-became-the-hunter just stood there, posed with elegance, .50 caliber bullets dropping like rain all around them. A red hood covered both head and gender, but the ever-present gale in this area swooshed the cape enough for me to espy a black skirt with red frills and legs covered in dark stockings and combat boots.

Her-and she was totally a her-schythe gleamed, as if thirsty for more Grimm blood.

Now I honestly have no idea how some Huntresses think. I mean, she seemed to have them beaten, and it was only a matter of picking off the stragglers and the job was done. But, of course, maybe I was not seeing how tired she must be, how much Aura she had used in her Beowolf eradication, and with civilization still miles upon miles away, she must've had little time to think about the consequences when an opportunity came by.

But still, propelling herself to the sky and clinging onto the belly of the White Whale was not my idea of a sensible joyride.

-o- -o- -o- -o-

Once I'd escaped my pursuers and my mortal brush with Ziz, the Grimm of NOPE, I did some maneuvering and coaxing so that the little red hood girl was inside the ship instead of outside freezing at the temperature of our current altitude.

Her name was Ruby Rose, as eloquently stated by Observe and from her own mouth, which still a little blue from the cold. Some of her shivers might have also been caused by Ziz; I sure as hell was still shaken up by the experience and only Gamer's Mind kept me calm and collected, kept the fear and I-wanna-shit-my-pants-till-they're-brown urge from controlling me.

"So," I said, as I handed Ruby a cup of hot cocoa. The concession stand here was stocked and I made good use of it. And learned a new "Hot Cocoa making" skill to boot. I waited for Ruby to take a sip before continuing, "So... you thought it was a good idea to hitchhike under a giant ship."

She winced. Was it the hotness of the drink or me being blunt? "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Define 'good' please."

"Uh... it was the quickest way out of the woods?"

"Out of the woods, yes, but you never considered that this plane won't be heading towards Vale."

She deflated from being reminded of that fact. She looked so downtrodden, it felt like I just kicked a puppy.

"By the way, where're all the passengers?"

"There are none." I already prepared for this question. "It's just you, me, and the pilot."

She blinked, as if she wanted me to elaborate on this to drive away the ensuing confusion.

I didn't oblige her.

"Wait... so why are you flying this thing?"

News wouldn't spread till later. I could still handle damage control and drop her off at the nearest place of civilization. But...

But that also meant I'd be abandoning a 14-year-old on her own in a place unfamiliar to her. Her mini-bio, courtesy of Observe, told me that she lived most of her life in Vale and Patch, an island just outside of the former. Anywhere else was alien to her. Plus, I had to land in a spot that could attract the least attention, not to mention convincing Ruby to get off without asking any more sensitive questions and . . .

I looked at her again. She finished up her cocoa and set the mug onto her lap. Her silver eyes stared straight at me, and I recoiled at the feelings of innocence, excitement, and heart-wrenching trust.

Damn it.

Dammit, dammit, dammit.

She was 14 years old! I shouldn't get her involved. Yet a part of me...

God. Dammit.

I just knew I was gonna regret this.

-o- -o- -o- -o-

20 years later...

"And that, children, is how I met your mother."

My youngest raised her hand. "Is that why Aunty Yang keeps calling you Pedophilic Eloper?"


	19. Chapter 18: NOTICE ME, SENPAI!

NOTICE ME, SENPAI! by JamJackEvo

Prereq: Escape

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_He woke her up from her deep slumber. It's like Snow White!  
><em>_Except, you know, Snow White is a mountain-sized monster and Prince Charming is a thief trying to flee from her, but that's just details._

Let me input some details, then.

-o- -o- -o- -o-

Ziz had awoken from her slumber.

Finally, after thousands of years of sleep, with the only thing keeping her company were her dreams, which were tolerable companions at best and killer of moods at worst. Now that she was free of them, at least until she needed to return to sleep for another thousand years, she could go out and find her purpose in life.

The tiny humans and animal-humans seem to think her without a soul, but they were taking it all wrong. Sure she leveled a whole city with a swipe of her wing, but there was a hard-to-reach itch on her belly and having wings for arms (how she envied those humans for that alone) didn't help. It was only later, once the death toll had reached 4 zeroes that she thought of using her beak.

And sure she screamed with such earth-shattering shrills that another ten thousand died from having their eardrums explode, but that was only because she flew too low and stubbed her foot on a mountain. It hurt. A lot. Could you blame her for screaming and crying?

Oh, and due to that aforementioned stub, she lost balance and rolled on the ground, flattening two cities in the process, adding up the pancake... erm, body count to another 5000, but come on, at least it wasn't 10!

But she digressed.

Now that she was up, she could venture out again and repent for all that she had done. She felt lucky that she had to hibernate for a millennium because that gave the human and animal-human population to regrow their numbers. And maybe they'd forget all her mishaps and mayhem? Sure, they might talk about it through the generations, but she could easily wave it off as more than one storyteller embellishing and exaggerating to juicy up the events.

Anyway, she opened up her eyes...

And got fed with Dust bullets. The blue kind, and she was allergic to the blue kind.

She coughed, swiping her wing to her face, unknowingly starting up a tornado that blew away a certain Gamer's pursuers, who were also the eye-pokers. This tornado continued on its course towards the northern islands of Vacuo, going from sea to land and kickstarting the mother of all sandstorms, thereby killing 1,098 people, with 500 or so still missing.

Ziz blinked, happy to get rid of that abominable stuff before it could hurt her red eyes. Then she looked around, feeling anger course through her as she tried to look for the... the... meanie who threw Dust at her and-

She stopped. She looked. She dropped her jaw.

White wings, white body, white everything, flying with such majesticism (not an actual word; she didn't care) that it almost looked like he was gliding through the air. He wasn't even flapping his wings! He must teach her that, just so she can safely say she can consciously prevent human genocide.

She tried to get his attention, but he didn't look her way.

So cooooool!

Okay, Ziz, you need to make a good first impression. Time to put Levi-chan's lessons into action!

She stood tall and proud, almost as if she were touching the sky itself. With her wings spread out (causing twin giant gales going in separate directions, causing massive damages in the neighboring kingdoms), she called for him in the most affectionate way as Leviathan instructed with words that would surely make him swoon, capturing his heart as he did with hers.

"NOTICE ME, SENPAI!"

-o- -o- -o- -o-

Jaune flew even faster.

Ziz just screamed at him. Totally not a good sign. It must be planning to pursue him, then kill him. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!

Why must his Luck be like this?


	20. Chapter 19: Not My Final Form

Not My Final Form by GorgonEyed

Prereq: Escape

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James Ironwood was taking no more chances. Every time they had run down the NeverMan, he either evaded at the last second or pulled Grimm into the melee. It was nothing short of a miracle that no one had been killed yet, especially considering the altercation with Ziz. He'd even menaced several continents. In sequence rather than simultaneously, but he was still to dangerous to leave alone. If they didn't stop him, their luck would run out eventually and then James would have to send the bad news to a soldier's family.

So this time, he pulled out all the stops.

A legion composed of Knight-200s and Paladin-290s, fresh off the line, with Hunter specialists providing support. A wing of bullheads, backed by a smattering of airships and even a modified White Whale model. Every unit or aircraft was fitted with at least one x-ray scope to give them forewarning if the NeverMan tried to bait another legendary Grimm to them. The preparation had been met with accusations of paranoia from the Atlasian government, but they hadn't been there when Ziz awoke. James' men had, and he cared more for their safety than his political standing.

Though, he might even come out ahead in that arena too, seeing as how they had successfully cornered the NeverMan.

In the center of a ring composed of the finest hardware Atlas had ever produced, there stood the NeverMan. No hiding places. No henchmen. No vehicles. A Paladin pilot at the fore of the force read their intentions to the NeverMan, and James wished he could see the bastard's face.

"NeverMan, for a myriad of crimes against the kingdoms of Remnant, and against all of humanity, you are under arrest. Due to the varied locations the crimes were committed in, you will be tried and sentenced in accord with international law. If you attempt to resist, we will shoot to kill. Take off your mask, and put your hands where we can see them!"

The NeverMan just cocked his head to the side, and spoke.

"You are making a terrible mistake."

James Ironwood failed to restrain a disgusted snort. The NeverMan was trying to talk now?

The lead Paladin continued. "I assure you, we are not. You'll make your case in court, or not at all. It's more than an animal like you deserves."

"Perhaps, but mistaken identity or extenuating circumstances were not what I was referring to. You threw this little party to capture the NeverMan. Unfortunately for you..."

The NeverMan slowly raised his hands to shoulder level, palms open upward.

_"...this isn't even my final form!"_

Then the NeverMan's mask shifted in shape, taking on the likeness of Ziz.

And all hell broke loose.

-

I couldn't stop myself.


End file.
